Oliver's Twist
Editor’s Pick

A textbook exemplar of that burgeoning new dining category, the cocktail and nosh lounge, is this Phinney Ridge winner. A former Carmelita chef and server joined forces—first to create a son named Oliver, then his namesake lounge. It’s got a long bar and arty persimmon walls, pillowed banquettes and dusky illumination (and perpetually steamed windows), as well as a teensy kitchen. Still, that kitchen produces nibbles—not so much dinners as elements of dinners—which showcase an artful aesthetic, from garlic truffle-salted popcorn to a frisky bread salad to the best grilled cheese you’ve ever had. And to accompany, substantial cocktails like a grapefruity vermouth number called the Sowerberry.